Great venue, relatively new basketball stadium, appreciative audience, band and Leonard in great form, not played, anthem, say goodbye, last dance, played, chelsea hotel, tower,tried to leave you, highlights were darkness with the new arrangement on opening, new variation on javiers opening to who by fire, chelsea hotel , sisters of mercy and raincoat were highlights for us. Have seen this show a few times in the last year, its getting better and better, not in any bit stale. anthem missed again. finished set 1 with lover lover, band intro is a bit rushed and harder to hear than with anthem.photos to follow

Matej Artač ‏@matej_artac - He left the stage accompanied by laud applause and cheering and his last words to us were "see you down below!" #LeonardCohen

Down below? Is that Leonard's gentlemanly way of saying "See you in hell"??
The person probably misheard - I bet he said "down the road". Which is encouraging, because the other tweet sounded very final:

Mladen Prajdic ‏@MladenPrajdic - "This is the last time we see each other, friends" Leonard Cohen today in Ljubljana.

"In this world of shallow, he is the abyss."~ YouTube commenter greg450318
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Lyon, July 2008 / Oakland x2, April 2009 / San Jose, November 2009 / Oakland, December 2010 / San Jose, November 2012 / Oakland, March 2013

mnkyface wrote:He left the stage accompanied by loud applause and cheering and his last words to us were "see you down below!" #LeonardCohen

ah Esther,
Must have been a Freudian Slip, he obviously meant "Down Under" for Australia and New Zealand

It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to B4real ~ me Attitude is a self-fulfilling prophecy ~ me ...... The magic of art is the truth of its lies ~ me ...... Only left-handers are in their right mind!

I did not hear the more pessimistic "this may be the last time we see each other, friends" but I do recall him saying "I hope we see each other somewhere down the road". The phrase "down below" open up a whole different discourse in the Cohen canon, no?

As for the concert: It started at 8.45pm .. most tickets said 8pm although ours from the special fan sale said 9pm .. The hall is new but looks old .. it is a metal monstrosity with a funny roof. The sound for us in the front was much better than I had expected although friends further back said there was a distinct echo. The public was mostly respectfully enthusiastic although there were more than the usual hollers of nothing in particular from the side. The security people were very laid back ... allowing people to come to the front to take photos and even some waltzing couples during Take This Waltz. From so close, I could see the real chemistry between all the group and everyone - especially Leonard - seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. It was wonderful also to see how Leonard both strains for every word and yet also interacts so well with the band members. He seemed to be really enjoying himself. Less banter than usual between songs and a concert of 25 songs in total. I believe he has made a conscious decision to play a little less and who can blame him.

Musical highlights: I love the reworked version of Lover, Lover, Lover even if it means that we don't get to hear Anthem. The placing together of Suzanne, Chelsea Hotel and Sisters of Mercy works wonderfully with the main focus being Leonard's voice and guitar with very little else in the background. Take This waltz was sublime perfection and the encores did not disappoint ... a mix of singalong and sublime concentration.

At the end - After I Tried to Leave You - Leonard picked up a bunch of flowers and handed them to Sharon; he also picked up a note which one young woman had placed on the stage ... not sure it was worth it: it simply said Famous Blue Raincoat in large scrawly letters! Hattie picked up a large envelope from her side of the stage. And I got my first set list to treasure.

Paul Zagreb wrote:I did not hear the more pessimistic "this may be the last time we see each other, friends" but I do recall him saying "I hope we see each other somewhere down the road". The phrase "down below" open up a whole different discourse in the Cohen canon, no?
Paul

I saw the tweet that had "...is the last time..." which was rather disquieting. "May be" is not so much, that just sounds like Leonard's normal understanding of life's uncertainties. And what a difference between "down below" and "down the road!" Unless you take "down below" to mean "at the foot of the stage stairs"... but somehow I don't see Mr. Cohen announcing a return to meet & greets!

I'm not surprised at the shortened-for-him set list, given the late start time. Even if Leonard himself and the band have the stamina for longer (and he, and they, do, I'm sure) he would still be mindful of the length of the workday for his companions doing the load-out.